International Procurement Services (Overseas) Ltd2017-12-14 08:32:45

The newly-launched ANDRE Advanced Near-field Detection Receiver from Research Electronics International (REI) is helping prevent fraud at exam testing sites.

Commonly used for counter surveillance operations and intelligence protection, the ANDRE is now also helping educators prevent cheating during examinations by detecting covert electronic transmissions.

According to Brazilian news reports, eleven individuals were arrested last year for using electronic devices during the high-profile National High School Examination- Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem). This year,(2017) the Ministry of Education has a new security feature; the ANDRE Advanced Near-field Detection Receiver can detect the emission of radiofrequency signals from WiFi, Bluetooth, cell phones and illegal broadcasts. ANDRE detects radio frequency transmissions, regardless of whether they are unknown, illegal, disruptive or interference, to locate and identify participants who attempt to use electronic devices during the exam and may have circumvented inspection by metal detectors. The adoption of this new technology reinforces the security strategy of Enem, which already uses metal detectors for the surveillance and identification of electronic devices.

The Brazilian Minister of Education is quoted as saying “Our goal is to combat the electronic points that, unfortunately, are still used in high-profile exams such as ENEM.” According to the Brazilian Federal Police, more investing is being done to repress fraud, stating that “there are now almost imperceptible electronic points. As organized crime increases, we will also introduce new security solutions.”

The ANDRE is a hand-held broadband receiver that detects and assists in locating nearby RF and other types of transmitters, including mobile phones. Antenna probes included with the ANDRE can be used to search for known, unknown, illegal, disruptive, or interfering electronic transmitters. Hidden electronic devices are easily concealed in a variety of objects and access to eavesdropping and electronic bugging devices is becoming easier and more affordable. The ANDRE provides mobile RF search capability to help locate these hidden transmitters quickly and discretely.

Mr Gerry Hall, Managing Director of International Procurement Services, distributors of ANDRE said, “As organised crime increases and technology advances at an alarming rate, we find that we are facing new challenges on an almost daily basis. Exam fraud is a growing problem the world over, and as International Distributors of REI we are always ready to offer advice, support and training to counteract these increases in exam fraud.”